McMillen High School is the only Murphy campus among nine Plano ISD schools that earned the 2025-2027 National PTA School of Excellence designation, a two-year honor recognizing strong family-school partnerships.

The district announced the honorees Monday, Aug. 10, one day before Plano ISD's first day of school. National PTA awarded the designation to 321 schools nationwide on Aug. 1, according to a National PTA press release.

The full list of Plano ISD honorees: Barksdale Elementary, Centennial Elementary, Gulledge Elementary, Huffman Elementary (an IB World School), Skaggs Elementary, Wyatt Elementary, Frankford Middle School, Rice Middle School and McMillen High School.

McMillen, located in Murphy, is the district's only Murphy-area campus on the list. Boggess Elementary, Hunt Elementary and Murphy Middle School, the other Plano ISD campuses serving Murphy families, did not earn the designation this cycle.

What it takes

The honor isn't automatic. PTAs must complete a year-long, five-step process that includes gathering community feedback in the fall, building and implementing an Excellence Action Plan, re-surveying families in the spring to measure progress and submitting a Community Impact Form by June 15, according to the National PTA program page.

The program is grounded in the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and focuses on strengthening family engagement and advancing school improvement goals.

"Strong partnerships between families and schools are critical to student success — academically, socially and emotionally," National PTA President Bill Datema said in the Aug. 1 announcement. "We're proud to honor the 2025-2027 Schools of Excellence ... for their work building family-school partnerships that make a real difference for students."

Huffman Elementary is a repeat honoree, having also earned the 2024-2026 designation, according to Texas PTA records.

How Murphy families can get involved

Plano ISD's first day of school is Tuesday, Aug. 11. The district's Elementary Fall Back to School/Parent Information Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, giving families an early chance to connect with PTA leaders.

Murphy families interested in PTA membership don't need to wait for the designation to reach their campus. Boggess Elementary PTA, for example, offers individual memberships for $13 and family memberships for $26 for the 2026-2027 school year, with no volunteering or meeting attendance required.

PTAs that want to pursue the School of Excellence designation for the next cycle can enroll through Oct. 15 at PTA.org/Excellence.